Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Halloween Ends.Corey Cunningham’s fate in Halloween Ends didn’t manage to be much of a surprise, but it did include a very specific callback to a scene from the film’s predecessor, Halloween Kills. Having gone on a killing spree just a few years after unwillingly killing his first victim, Corey wears the mask that belongs to Michael Myers and ends up at the home of Laurie Strode seeking to kill her. As Corey attempts to kill Laurie, she shoots him at the top of the stairs, and he falls to the first floor, in a similar manner to Jeremy, the boy that he accidentally murdered.
Halloween Ends references Cameron’s death in Halloween Kills after Corey falls from the stairs and is later killed by Michael Myers. Cameron’s death involved Michael stabbing and throwing him into the top railing before snapping his neck. In Ends, Corey stabs himself in the neck, but he doesn’t die. After Michael grabs for his knife, Corey lunges at him before Myers snaps his neck in a manner reminiscent of how he killed Cameron. This effectively means that Michael Myers has now killed two of Allyson Nelson’s boyfriends in very similar ways.
Why Michael Myers Killed Corey In Halloween Ends
Halloween Ends may have featured a flurry of controversial moments, but one of the biggest mistakes was Corey defeating Michael Myers in a tussle for his mask. The scene disrespects Michael Myers’ legacy, but does also add more reason as to why Myers eventually killed Corey. The Halloween killer has never been an easy opponent to fight against, and so he couldn’t have been happy that a young man was able to subdue him and steal his iconic mask before going after his nemesis Laurie. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that Myers decided to kill Corey despite the character being teased as the villain’s successor.
Why Cameron’s Death Was Worse Than Corey’s
The Halloween franchise doesn’t always get certain aspects of their stories right, but one thing the H40 trilogy has done correctly is introducing new characters to the franchise that the audience can easily resonate with like Cameron. His death was genuinely heartbreaking because of how brutal it was and because he tried to kill Michael Myers himself, effectively dying in a noble way. In contast, Halloween Ends breaks the reboot’s nastiness by doing something unexpected and introducing characters that couldn’t possibly be likable by its end such as Corey. His death wasn’t unfortunate to see, because he had become a cold-blooded killer beyond any form of redemption, and nothing about his demise was heroic or redeemable.
Cameron’s death was also worse than Corey’s in the sense that he could have actually had a future with Allyson. Their relationship had weight to it. Corey knew who he was as a person and wasn’t going to change that for anyone. Had he survived, he could have ended up killing Allyson and may have eventually become the next Michael Myers. Corey wanted to instill fear in his victims, especially the ones that were his enemies. All Cameron wanted to do was kill the man responsible for killing his friends and the other innocent people of Haddonfield. With this in mind, the Halloween Ends movie callback to Cameron’s death in Halloween Kills proves effective due to just how different the Cameron and Corey are, despite their similar fates.
